


Chipmunks Genuflect

by slodwick



Series: Baby Girl [2]
Category: Smallville
Genre: Alternate Reality, Gen, Kid Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-03-11
Updated: 2003-03-11
Packaged: 2017-10-19 09:47:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/199525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slodwick/pseuds/slodwick





	Chipmunks Genuflect

**Chipmunks Genuflect**

Lionel stopped humming Mozart when he heard giggling. "Hello," he said slowly, his hand paused halfway to the refrigerator door. This was certainly... unexpected.

"Hi!" The little girl in purple overalls smiled at him around her oversized cookie, tiny feet dangling beneath her chair. Honey-gold pigtails bounced with every swing of her feet, and she appeared to be missing one of her front teeth.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Caroline," she said, still grinning. "I'm four years old." She raised her hand and waved four sugary fingers at him, and Lionel feared for his Armani. Thankfully, she seated on the far side of the broad marble island.

"I see. How very nice for you." He crossed his arms, trying his best to loom, but it seemed she was a little too far away for full effectiveness. "And what exactly are you doing in this kitchen, Caroline?"

She pointed at the tall glass of horrifically bright red liquid on the table next to her. "Lex always says no Kool-Aid on the carpet."

Her tone indicated that Lionel had asked an extremely foolish question. He might have been offended, but he was momentarily stunned, not only by the fact that this mysterious child was apparently a regular in his son's house, but also that Kool-Aid was allowed in _any_ room.

"What's your name?"

"My name is Lionel Luthor." No recognition. She didn't seem the least bit intimidated, and Lionel was reminded why he didn't like dealing with children. "I'm Lex's father."

"Wow," she said, her voice thick with awe. Ah, that was better.

"You sure have a lot more hair than Lex."

Damn. Then the girl began to giggle, the sound echoing off the counters and the Italian tile floor. It was very feminine and high-pitched, and it made his head hurt. Lionel was thankful he'd had a son. "What are you laughing at?"

"You're name is Lion, and you look like the Cowardly Lion! From The Wizard of Oz! Only before he got pretty at the end. When he was the scaredy lion!" She had been speaking rather matter-of-factly, but at his expression, the girl burst into a fresh bout of giggles. Lionel was about to correct her when her laughter was interrupted by a sudden squeal.

"Hi, Lex! Hi, Clark!"

"Hello, Caroline." Lionel turned quickly to see his son crossing the kitchen, smiling at the girl, followed by his friend Clark Kent. The child dropped the remains of her cookie on the table and rushed over to Lex, flinging her arms around his thighs. He looked a little shocked, and even stumbled backwards a step or two under the force of her attack, but his hands rested gently on her shoulders, and when she turned her face up to him, he winked at her.

Lex didn't even seem to mind the sticky red smear above her lip. Apparently, Lionel thought, he was truly a failure as a father.

"Hello, Dad. I see you've already met Clark's younger sister, Caroline."

Clark crouched down in front of them, his back to the girl. "C'mon, Car-Bear! All aboard the Kent express." She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck, and practically jumped onto his back. He curled his arms under her legs, and turned to face Lex, with Caroline peeking over his shoulder.

"Ah-ha. So this is Martha Kent's miracle baby. How lovely for her to finally have a child of her own."

The Kent boy's grin faltered for a moment at that, but he quickly recovered his composure. "Yup. She's our little miracle alright." Clark reached up and tickled her knee, eliciting another round of girlish giggles. Her arms tightened in what must have been a slightly painful grip on the boy's neck, but he didn't even seem to notice. "You ready to go, kiddo?"

Lex put his hand on Clark's elbow, and tilted his head towards the door. Clark nodded, and started walking away with large, exaggerated steps, bouncing the girl up into the air behind him. "Is it time for the pandas now, Clark?"

"You got it, Car-Bear. Next stop, Metropolis Zoo, and Mei Mei!"

"Sorry, Dad," Lex said, grinning back over his shoulder as he followed the exuberant Kent pair. "No time to chat. Got to see a man about a panda."

"Bye-bye, Lion! We'll go see your friends, too!" Her bubbly voice was just as grating floating in from the other room as it had been in the kitchen. Lionel did _not_ flinch.

But he was left gaping in the kitchen, all thoughts of a mid-afternoon snack forgotten. His son was taking the loud, slightly sticky sister of his friend to a public zoo, to see an elderly panda bear, and there was just something vaguely horrifying about that.

And worst of all, Lex had been humming, too.

It had been a long time, after all, but Lionel was fairly certain he had recognized a few bars of "King of the Forest".

Damn.


End file.
